Sasuke's Quest
by Kaiyos
Summary: 3 years after Sasuke becomes a Chuunin, he is still looking for a purpose. (ANTI YAOI )
1. Proposal

Chapter 1  
  
The story takes place 3 years after Naruto becomes a chuunin. We will leave the details for someone else.  
  
After their collaboration to rescue Sasuke... Naruto, Shikamaru, Neji, Kiba, and Choji have been best friends since. As for Sasuke? This is his story...  
  
I never felt like I belonged anywhere. My one goal threw me off on what was important in life. Itachi still wanders... alive. I still have myself for not being able to kill him. That is no longer important to me right now. Right now, I need to be accepted and I need a purpose.  
  
"Hey Sasuke!" I hear an annoying voice call from behind me.  
  
"What is it?" I still cannot believe this loudmouth shrimp is better than me, though I will never admit to him that I acknowledge his strength.  
  
"Me and the guys are going to get something to eat," he sneered. He's just shoving it in my face about how much more popular he was since Gaara's defeat. "Want to come?"  
  
I couldn't believe what the mosquito was saying. More like, I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Naruto was inviting me to his little group of friends. He had been avoiding me since they got me back from Ochimaru's grasp. In fact, everyone's been avoiding me since then. I was so naïve to think that Ochimaru could give me the power to defeat my brother- the same person that Ochimaru himself fears.  
  
My mind wandered for a bit as I thought of what happened before. I still couldn't believe how naïve I was. The thoughts put me in a trance. The images of my past danced and mocked me in my head, from when Itachi killed my parents, to when I agreed to work for Ochimaru. The thing that broke my trance was an annoying buzzing noise.  
  
"Yo! Sasuke!" Oh, It was Naruto again... That bug. "So are you coming or not?"  
  
I really didn't know what to say. My reputation was already dead. I couldn't be any lower than I already was so I agreed to go.  
  
"Uhm, fine," I shrugged. I followed him to his favorite ramen shop. That place held so many memories. It felt as if Kakashi-sensei was still there, treating us to some ramen.  
  
As I walked in, I saw a familiar character. It was Kakashi-sensei. When he saw me, he looked very surprised and disappointed at the same time. He had not seen me since my so-called "Rescue" Hmph, some entrance. The whole shop silenced when I walked in. I had not been very public for a while. I was wrong about my dead reputation... It just rotted. It wasn't too awkward for me when people glared at me as I took my seat; I was always being looked down upon, but there was something strange about Naruto's invitation.  
  
Choji greeted me as if I had food. Shikamaru merely nodded at me. Neji shrugged me off as I did the same to him. Kiba seemed as if he did not even notice me, even though I knew he did. His nose was sharper than a normal shinobi's eyes. To see so many people from my past here was tormenting, but strange at the same time. Then, Naruto turned to me and gave his awkward smile.  
  
"Sasuke," He said to me. What the hell was going on here? Why is everyone looking at me? Even Kiba turned around now to hear what Naruto was saying. Neji's eyes were fixed on me-which was creepy. Naruto paused and looked at me for a long time.  
  
I couldn't take the silence anymore.  
  
"What do you want from me?" I said to his face. "Why did you bring me here?"  
  
Naruto rubbed the back of his neck and replied, "We need you back. We need you to work with us once more. What do you say?"  
  
((Okay, so I dont have all the facts down, but I'm working on it. If you see any errors on the facts, just comment or IM me about it. I also need work on my english... eheheheh.  
  
-Sweatdrop- Thanks, I'll be back with more soon. ^.~)) 


	2. Quit Playing Games!

Chapter 2  
  
I can't believe that the little bastard just asked me to suddenly work with him. What the hell did he want from me?! I looked at him questionably and raised an eyebrow.  
  
"What do you want?" I asked him again. I wanted to pull that grin right off his face. It was almost like he read my mind and his face suddenly got serious.  
  
"We've been assigned on a near-impossible mission," he looked so serious, it was almost as if he was acting, "and," He paused. "We really need all the help we can get."  
  
I shook my head rebelliously. "Why did you come to me?" I asked, still shaking my head. "There are more trustworthy shinobis out there... why me?" I was truly confused now. I once abandoned the Hidden Leaf; why would they want me back? Even to this day, nobody trusts me, and it has been three years, but why now? I turned to Naruto and looked at him questionably.  
  
"We need as many people that know the Sharigan as possible. That's why Kakashi is here as well," Naruto answers.  
  
Shikamaru raises a hand. Naruto turns his head and nods at Shikamaru."Question..." Shikamaru's expression hardly changed as he opened his mouth. "Why did we meet at a ramen shop?"  
  
An awkward silence went throughout the ramen shop, I'd have to say that it was a good question.  
  
Naruto laughed nervously. "Um... Me and Choji agreed on it." A waiter comes with Naruto and Choji's orders. They both jump in excitement as they both grab a pair of chopsticks and indulge themselves in ramen. Those idiots don't know they're making fools out of themselves. They were the only ones in the whole restaurant eating.  
  
I had to snap them out of it... Well, Naruto at least. "Hey... Naruto," I put my hands on his chopsticks and took them away. "Tell me why I'm here!"  
  
Naruto simply looked at me and said, "I already told you." He grabbed a new pair of chopsticks and resumed eating.  
  
By this time, I was furious. There had to be a reason why he's gathering the Sharigan users, but he is an idiot enough to have the gathering in a ramen shop. Neji looked irritated, as well as Kiba.  
  
Almost as if it was planned, the three of us opened our mouths to speak. "Why are we here?"  
  
Kakashi-sensei's expression changed from bored, to amused... not that I could really tell much of a difference.  
  
Naruto finished his ramen and whipes his mouth. "We've been sent on a near- impossible mission."  
  
I waved my hand dismissively. "Yes, yes. I know that part. You already told me. Now get to the details."  
  
Naruto's eyes scanned the shop as the other people start to mind their own businesses again. "Do I have to say it here? It's supposed to be a secret mission and people are listening."  
  
At this point, I wanted to take out a baka stick and whack it over Naruto's head.  
  
"Let's move to a more remote place then," Shikamaru spoke up. Being the reasonable person he is, he heads towards the door, knowing we will all follow eventually. Choji lifts his head up and pouts as he watches his best friend walk out the door. He looked at his food, glanced at Shikamaru, then back at his food again.  
  
"Do we have to?" Choji whined, holding onto his ramen. "There's more food here."  
  
Neji sighs as he turns his head away from Choji and follows Shikamaru. Akamaru jumped off of Kiba's head and Kiba followed Akamaru out the door. Naruto and I head for the door at the same time leaving Kakashi-sensei to deal with Choji's big stomache.  
  
We went to a remote area a little outside the village. I don't know how Kakashi-sensei did it. Moments later, he arrived with Choji. Choji didn't seem too happy and he seemed reluctant to leave his food, but he knew his duties as a shinobi.  
  
Neji asked my next question. "Is Naruto the only one that knows of this 'Near-Impossible' mission?"  
  
Naruto nodded and smiled. "Just me and Kakashi-sensei." He glanced at Kakashi-sensei who seemed to smile back.  
  
"Well?" We all asked in unison. Then came the awkward silence.  
  
I beat everyone to the point. "What is this 'Near-Impossible' mission you keep blabbing about?"  
  
Naruto smirked. "All of you, get closer, I'm about to tell you." 


	3. Tyde, Kina, The Mist Children

Naruto's always looked up to me; otherwise he wouldn't always be competing against me. Even if we met under different circumstances, we probably wouldn't be friends. It was because of the stupid squad assignments that we know each other in the first place. I don't know where I am going with this, but I've never liked Naruto and I never will.  
  
Naruto's the biggest idiot that I know. After he gathered us all outside the village, he admitted to us that he was not yet assigned this mission. Amazing what that baka will do to get attention. He said that Godaime warned him about the mission. "I want you to gather seven of the best shinobis that you know." He quoted. "This will be a tough one so I want you to choose carefully before I give you the mission. I will give you three hours to gather up your nins."  
  
Shikamaru looked in thought. "Hmm... why didn't Godaime just give you the mission before finding the nins? Wouldn't that make it easier for you to pick your team based on ability?"  
  
Naruto rubbed the back of his neck. "Heh, well, I asked her that and she didn't want me to think too hard about it. She needed the shinobis as quickly as possible, so I figured three sharigan eyes are better than one!"  
  
~Awkward silence~ That idiot Naruto needs to go back to the academy. How did he earn the title of chuunin?! ~Awkward silence end.~  
  
A sweat drop rolled down Kakashi-sensei's face. "So you're saying I'm not good enough?"  
  
That idiotic Naruto-smile got bigger. "No, I'm saying we need all the help that we can get."  
  
Kiba glared at Naruto, shook his head and looked at the ground. "Then let's go get our Mission. We have all the people we need here right?"  
  
Choji immediately raised his hand, "Wrong... you're going to have to count me out."  
  
Naruto opened his mouth to speak, but Kakashi spoke first. "You're going to have to find a replacement for me too. I can't say why I can't help, but you're going to have to go on without me." Naruto opened his mouth to speak again, but Kakashi already disappeared leaving behind a spiral of leaves.  
  
Choji headed back to the village... Back to his ramen I'll bet. Neji jumped in front of him trying to stop him from going into the village. "Where are you going?"  
  
"Hmph, you guys will be better off without me," Choji grunted. "You should find some other nins because I don't feel like doing this mission."  
  
Shikamaru nodded. "I don't feel like doing this mission either, but from what Naruto makes of it, it sounds important"  
  
Choji's face bloated up like a balloon. "But Naruto doesn't even know what the mission is. How would he know the importance of the mission?"  
  
Neji stepped aside, nodding at Choji. "Find then. We will find someone to replace you." His glace shifted towards Naruto. "How much time do we have left to look for replacements?"  
  
Naruto gazed into the sky and yawned lazily. "Oh... about two hours."  
  
Kiba nodded. "Yeah, well, what else did the Godaime tell you?"  
  
Naruto blinked twice. "Tsunade said that we were going to the Hidden Mist Village to do our mission. So I'm guessing we need to find someone with some knowledge of the village..."  
  
The bastard was on a first-name basis with the Hokage?! He really is the most arrogant brat I know.  
  
"I know of someone," Shikamaru spoke up; all eyes turned to him. "I know someone with much knowledge of the Hidden Mist. Her name is Kina. In fact, she just came back to the village."  
  
Naruto looked up. "Is she pretty?" I swear, Naruto spends too much time with that Jiraiya guy.  
  
Shikamaru raises an eyebrow and glared at Naruto. "I... wouldn't know. I've only heard of her."  
  
Naruto's head drooped. "Well... we should still look for other nins. We might not find her."  
  
Being the intelligent guy he is, Shikamaru suggested that we pair up and split up. Akamaru and Kiba, Neji and Naruto, and Shikamaru and I were paired up and then we split up. Shikamaru... that lazy bastard didn't want to do anything. I barely knew any one in the village personally except for one person. Tyde. He was born of the Hidden Mist, but some kind of conflict brought him here. He is one of the luckier shinobi's. Both his parents are still alive, and taught him many water justsus.  
  
I walked to Tyde's house and knocked on his door. No one answered. Suddenly a voice calls out. "Hey Tyde! Wake up!" Shikamaru yelled at the door."  
  
"You know Tyde?" I raised an eyebrow and looked at Shikamaru, a bit surprised at his actions.  
  
Shikamaru shrugged. "Who doesn't?" He sat down at the steps of the hut. "Just sit for 5 minutes. He'll be out."  
  
Surely enough, five minutes later, the door opens and a bout about 17 years of age greeted us. "Hello there." He nodded as he acknowledged the both of us. "Shikamaru, Sasuke... What brings you here today?"  
  
"Tyde," Shikamaru said with his bored voice. "We need another shinobi on our next mission. I know it's a bit sudden, but the next mission is at the Hidden Mist and we need your knowledge."  
  
Tyde looked up, still smiling. "Hidden mist eh? Well... this might be interesting." That smile never left his face. He's so friendly... it's creepy.  
  
The walk to Tyde's house alone took an hour, so we left for the mission's office immediately. We ran into Naruto on the way to he mission's office. He hadn't yet found another person. Everything depended on Kiba and Akamaru for our seventh member.  
  
When we arrived at the Mission's Office, Kiba and Akamaru were already there. It didn't seem like they found the last nin. The nins these days have been slacking off because of our village's current state. Our village was too powerful that no one wanted to battle our village... alone. We still have that dumb alliance with the Hidden sand so that makes us more fearful.  
  
Each nin looked at each other idiotically as if they were waiting for an answer.  
  
-bing- Our time was up. We had to head in.  
  
Upon our entrance, I saw an attractive girl about 16 years of age waiting in the Office. The godaime spoke up as she walked in from another room with a scroll in her arms.  
  
The girl turned to look at the Godaime with confused eyes. She pointed at us as if awaiting an answer from Godaime. The godaime nodded at the girl. The girls looked so innocent. She grasped my hand and shook it. Smiling, she opened her mouth to speak. I heard no words come out of her mouth. I was too distracted by something; I did no know what. I looked around at the others just in time to see Naruto's jaw drop. What did she say to me?  
  
"Huh?"  
  
The hokage's voice spoke this time. "Please meet Kina. The seventh member for your mission, as well as the person you will be assisting to finish her A-ranked mission she was assigned two years ago." 


	4. New names, New faces

The fifth smiled at me like she knew nothing. Why do they do this to me? Kuso... When Tyde saw her, his smile widened. Did he want her too? He chucked, walked over to her and embraced her. She hugged him back and smiled. What was going on? Just because he looked good, it doesn't mean he automatically gets all the girls he sees. He's already got Sakura and Ino wrapped around his finger... not that it's a bad thing he got rid of those nuisances for me, but how much more did he want?  
  
He stared gently into her eyes and spoke. "It's been so long. Too long."  
  
They continued in their embrace. She whispered to him. "I missed you so much."  
  
My heart felt like it was on fire; burning up. Was this the feeling of jealousy? I didn't want him touching her. I didn't want him near her. I didn't even want to like him anymore. I wanted him away from her right away. What I felt more than the fire, was this aching feeling in my heart. Was this love? How can one person make my heart feel so... warmed? What was this power she had on me?  
  
I stood there speechless with a million thoughts running through my head. I could not figure out which one to say to her.  
  
I never knew silence could be so loud. I hated this. I stormed out of the mission's office. I didn't care if anyone was watching me; I couldn't stand it any longer. Footsteps followed me; I refused to face them.  
  
"Sasuke," Tyde's voice rang as my anger rose once more. I clenched my fists trying to hold in the fire. "What are you doing? Our next mission is to assist Kina back into the Hidden Mist."  
  
Kina. Her name made my heart made me forget my anger for a while, but Tyde... His face disgusted me. I shoved past him back into the mission's office. I walked up to Kina and nodded at her.  
  
"What's our next mission?" I directed my question at the fifth.  
  
She looked up and smiled at us. She took out a scroll and handed it to Naruto.  
  
"So, are you ready to know?" She nodded at Kina. "Two years ago, Kina was sent into the Hidden Mist village to spy for us. We suspected that the Hidden Mist villages were plotting something against us with some of the other villages. They started to suspect her because she's revealed many plans against the Hidden Leaf. We asked for her to come back to tell us all that she's learned. It's been a little over a week since she's been gone from the village without anyone knowing why she's left.  
  
"Now, we need her to go back because we do not yet nave enough information. Yes, it would be dangerous to send her back, but it is our best option. They would definitely suspect something if we sent someone else back. One disappears as another returns.  
  
"Their chuunin exams are coming up soon. We will have you entered into the exams. I need you to get as far as possible, but drop out after the prelimitations. This way, you will get close to the other gennins, chuunins, and jounin. There is a good chance that you will learn crucial details of the ambush they plan.  
  
"We will need you to give you all new identities. Fifteen years ago, there was an ambush on the Hidden mist. Many nins were killed and the children of those nins were kidnapped. I have record that those that were kidnapped are dead, but the Hidden Mist does not know that.  
  
"Sasuke" She turned to me.  
  
I stepped forward, raised an eyebrow and nodded to her. "What is it?"  
  
"Sasuke," she repeated. "I need to ask you not to use your sharigan. I highly doubt that any of the kidnapped children are Uchiha. I especially ask you not to use your sharigan during the exams. There are too many spectators everywhere."  
  
I nodded and backed away, turning around to evade Tyde's smile. My hearted jolted when I saw Kina smiling at me, motioning me to get closer to her. Chills went down my spine as she whispered in my ear.  
  
"It's not you we really need to worry about," she waved her hands towards Neji who was listening to what the Hokage was telling him. "It's his byukagan. It'll be hard for us to hide his eyes. Espcailly since much of his techniques are so much stronger with his byukagan. It will be hard for him not to use his eyes."  
  
I agreed. You're right. We need to find some kind of disguise for him. It needs to be enough to veil his eyes, but not enough to keep him from seeing."  
  
Kina looked thoughtful. "If we can do that for him, we can do that fo you too."  
  
How true. This is a great opportunity to learn some mist attacks. My last opportunity was our battle with Zabuza, but I was too busy being dead. This mission is definitely getting interesting.  
[Mission name: Kina's Return.  
  
Members: Kina, Sasuke, Tyde, Naruto, Kiba, Neji, Shikamaru.  
  
Mission Leader: Kina  
  
Mission Rank: A  
  
Mission Description: Sasuke, Naruto, Neji and shikamaru are given new identities. They must escort Kina back to the mist village safely and join  
the chuunin exam to get information of a possible ambush.  
  
Sasuke's new identity: Kyosuke Sakurada  
  
Naruto's new identity: Kei Kazami  
  
Neji's new identity: Arurmu Saotome  
  
Shikamaru's new identity: Ryu Urishi  
  
Kiba's new identity: Hiroshi Houji] 


	5. Disturbance in the Mist

Chapter 5  
We received new names, new disguise. I am ready to go. My disguise covered up most of my face. It muffled my voice and sheilded my eyes, which was a good thing. I guess. Neji's disguise was smililar, but it only covered his forhead and eyes. I guess the Uchiha clan is more well known that the Hyuuga clan.  
After the mission assignment, Naruto turned back to his cocky old self again. He constantly whined about how I would ruin the plan by running away and work for the Hidden Mist. I swear, if I didn't have to work with him, I'd kill Naruto by now... Or should I say Kei.  
We left the mission's office and agreed to meet outside the village the next day. That night, I laid awake in my bed, wondering. Why did I burn inside when Kina and Tyde hugged? I couldn't decide why my heart ached. Why? It kept me up for a while, but eventually I drifted off to sleep.  
  
"Sasuke," a voice called out. It was that of a girl. I looked around, searching for where the voice was calling. I couldn't find her.  
"Sasuke," a different voice calls out. It was a voice that I dreaded to hear ever again, a voice that belonged to my older brother. A shadow appreared through the darkness of the dream. The shadow inched closer. The more I moved away, the cloer it got. It's been three years and Itachi still looks the same. The face that I feared; Itachi.  
"Sasuke, help me," he showed no signs of worry nor distress. With his expressionless face, he spoke. "Help me, or I will kill you."  
"Then kill me!" I refuse to help him under any circumstance. "What is my purpose? Am I your tool?! If there is no reason for me except to be used by you, the kill me!"  
Itachi glared at me with those bloodred eyes. Sharigan.  
"Die..." He merely muttered. He lifted his kunai as I closed my eyes to prepare for my death.  
"Sasuke!" another familiar voice called out. I opened my eyes to see blood splattered all over me, but the blood was not mine. I looked up to see Tyde with the kunai suck in his left arm and holding another kunai in his right. "Sasuke," He looked back at me, disappointed. "How could give up your life without a fight to this piece of trash?" He jumped back and pulled out the kunai and dropped it on the ground as blood flowed down his arm. "Move," Itachi's eyes narrowed at Tyde. "You are in my way." Itachi glided across the field and sped towards Tyde. With one swift movement, he aimed his kunai at Tyde's abdomen. Tyde ducked on the swipe of the kunai and slid, attempting to trip Itachi. Itachi flipped out of the way and tripped Tyde instead. I stood there, watching and feeling useless. "Tyde..." it was the girl's voic again. Standing next to me, I saw her. Why is Kina here? She performed a series of seals. At the last seal, she froze in position as a thick mist started to rise. Too thick. I couldn't see anything. All I heard was the klinking of the kunais and the cutting of flesh. This went on for a long time... so it seemed. The silence was sudden. The kunais stopped clashing, but the blood kept dripping. It sounded as if the victory was decided. A body fell to the ground with a loud thud. A large object came playing at Kuna. Another loud thud was heard as it hit her. The mist was raising and I could see more clearly. I peered over my shoulder. I couldn't decide whether I felt surprised or not. There, I saw Tyde's lifeless body on top of Kina, but she embraced him like she did at the mission's office. A fire burned in my heart once more, but I pitied her a bit. I shoke my head and turned back to Itachi. Too late, he was already coming at me with the same bloodstained kunai, which he used to kill Tyde. Before I could react to defend myself, his kunai already claimed me as its next victim. I closed my eyes as I felt blood splatter on my body. Again, the blood did not belong to me. I watched in horror as Kina's body hit the floor, limp. The kunai went right through her heart. This time, I ran. I ran away like a scared little boy, crying. I didn't know where I was running, but I kept going. Then I hit it. I hit a wall I didn't see. Itachi was quickly closing in on me... the wall, I couldn't see it, it wouldn't move.  
  
I woke up as I hit the ground; beads of sweat had formed on my face. I could barely breath, but I was too traumatized to care. What seemed like an eternity was only ten minutes. I stayed awake for another hour before drifting back to sleep, shaking in fear. ((I know, it took me a while to update, but i'm starting to run out of ideas. So if you have any ideas, just IM me or Email me your ideas. I'll make sure to give credit to you ^^)) 


	6. True Colors?

((REMINDER: Sasuke's new identity: Kyosuke Sakurada Naruto's new identity: Kei Kazami Neji's new identity: Arurmu Saotome Shikamaru's new identity: Ryu Urishi Kiba's new identity: Hiroshi Houji  
  
It's not used in this chapter, but it will be used soon.))  
  
Chapter 6 What seemed like five minutes was actually five hours. It felt as if as soon as I fell asleep, I was awaken by a loud knocking at my door. I couldn't move and I ached all over. I closed my eyes and hoped for the noise to stop.  
  
"Hey! Sasuke!" Why can't he just shut up. "Hey! Wake up! You're the last one sleeping!"  
  
I groaned as I grabbed a random object and threw it at the door as it opened. Stupid Naruto. Why can't he ever leave me alone?  
  
"Go away," I grumbled.  
  
"Sasuke," that voice, that dream, that girl. "You've already been assigned on this mission. You can't back off now."  
  
Why must Kina and Tyde continue to haunt me? My mind started to wander again, back to the disturbing dream last night. Chills went down my spine. More blood. I shook myself back to reality.  
  
I knew that if I wanted to prove my purpose against Itachi that I would need to complete this task assigned to me. I sat up, placed my head in my hands and rubbed my forehead.  
  
"Atama ga itai desu," I grumbled.  
  
"Then get yourself some ice and put it on your head because we're about to leave," yelled out Naruto. "Hurry up!"  
  
I dragged myself slowly from the ground. Still squinting my eyes, I fumbled around for my shirt. I felt a wet towel being placed upon my face.  
  
"Here," It was Tyde's voice. "Use this. This will make you a bit more awake."  
  
"No thanks," I returned. "I'm fine."  
  
I found it, slipped it over myself and shook myself awake. I whipped my kunai pouch around my waist and equipped myself with two fuma shurikens. Now I'm ready for Kina's return.  
  
They all looked back, not knowing how long it will be before the return, but for me, there was no turning back. I can't look back, and even if I did, all I would find are lost hope and nightmares. With my back turned to the entrance of the village, I bid my farewell.  
  
"Ikimasho," I murmured to myself and as if it was on my cue, we all walked away at once.  
  
There are those walks where you walk slowly and enjoy the chirping of the birds. This was one of them. Kina's light voice attracted some of the nearby birds to join in her song. As I listened to her singing, my heart relaxed; the tension lessened and it was soothing to me. Out in places like these, who knows what kinds of anbus are hiding in the trees. The singing... it made me forget.  
  
I glanced over at Tyde whose reaction was the same as mine. I can't blame him. Her voice carried the melody across so smoothly.  
  
I shook myself out of the trace-like state and reminded myself to be alert to any ambush. Out of nowhere, a bush made a sudden jolt. I jumped a bit, and then relaxed. An anbu was too sly to do such a thing. Sure enough a tiny purr was heard.  
  
"Mew," The sound came from the bush. Kina turned around and cheerfully greeted the little kitten with coos and beckoning.  
  
"Tiger," She stroked the little creature's chin. "I've been worried about you. Where did you run off to? Don't ever do that to me again."  
  
Tyde looked surprised to see the cat. His face relaxed and he smiled as he gently took the kitten into his own arms and cradled it.  
  
"Wow," Tyde's eyes didn't leave the kitten. "You still have her?"  
  
Kina's smile grew wider. "Yup, she's been my faithful friend ever since I left two years ago. Actually... she's been my only friend since."  
  
Tyde raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? Too bad I couldn't go with you... I'm really sorry I didn't give you anything more than this cat." He handed Tiger back to Kina.  
  
"Oh, no," Kina continued to stroke Tiger. "It's the best thing you've given me. Thank you."  
  
So they've been friends for a very long time. I see now.  
  
The dumbest thing a boy can do at a time like his is reach for a girl's behind. I guess Tyde is very stupid. As his hand reached over to touch her, I took out my kunai pressed the blade against his wrist warning him to step back.  
  
"Respect the ladies helping us on our mission please..." I glared at him, not removing the kunai. Kuna turned around quickly and saw how close we both were to her. Her eyes narrowed. I didn't exactly see what went on, but I heard a loud smack. Then my left cheek starte to sting. I looked up just in time to see Tyde getting slapped.  
  
Giggles arose behind me. I glanced over my shoulder to see Naruto and Kiba snickering at s. Shikamaru and Neji simply sneered at me like I deserved it. That bstard. I didn't do anythhing to deserve this. I threw my kunai at his left arm. He just kept on walking as the kunai flew closer at him. I watcheds the kunai flew right through him and his body dispersed into water. A cold, metal blade pressed against my neck.  
  
"Tsk tsk," Tyde's voice rang out behind me. "And you call yourself Uchiha. You should be ashamed."  
  
I opened my mouth to speak, but Shikamaru interrupted. "Save the fighting for later. Let's just try to ge to the Hidden Mist... alive."  
  
I don't know who these two characters that call themselves Kina and Tyde are, but I didn't like them. 


	7. Maniac

Chapter 7 The more we walked, the less I liked Tyde and Kina. What in the world made me agree to work with them in the first place? The walk was not at all entertaining, but rather annoying. Tyde kept on going for Kina and i kept getting slapped. If Godaime had assigned me on this mission, I wouldn't need any of their help. Nothing was more annoying than quarrelling teammates.  
  
"I have an idea," said Naruto who was obviously bored of the same scene over and over again. "Let's play a game."  
  
"It's far too troublesome," Shikamaru sighed and waved off the idea.  
  
"I'd like to hear what it is," said Tyde, looking over at Naruto. "What is it?"  
  
"Well," Naruto looked thoughtful... for once. "Since we all have new names, I though we might practice calling each other that, and at the same time, get some training. Let's say I start. I'll call on two people and they have to try to call out each other's new name first. It they get it wrong or the other person calls the name first... Then they take 10 laps," Naruto pointed at a large bunch of trees conveniently grouped in a circle. "And everytime you get it wrong, the laps double."  
  
Neji shrugged, "Sounds like an idea."  
  
"Okay," Naruto seemed excited. "I'll go first. Um... Kiba and Sasuke! Go!" At that was the start of my long one thousand-lap exersize. It's not like I'd really bother to memorize everyone's name. The sharigan does speed up the learning process, but it wasn't even activated when the mission was being assigned. Why would it be? After many times of listening and many laps, I finially remembered their names.  
  
I was Kyosuke Shikamaru was Ryu Kiba was Hiroshi Naruto was Kei Neji was Narumu Kina and Tyde kept their same names.  
  
After the game was oer, it started to get a bit dark. We had to pitch our tents. Two of the people had to share tents. Kiba and Naruto ended up sharing. At least I wasn't the one to share tents with Naruto. He'd probably keep me up all night.  
  
Ironically enough, I did stay up all night, but this time, it wasn't Naruto's fault.  
  
The sun had set and it was very beautiful. Good thing kina was the onlygirl on this mission. If Sakura or Ino had been assigned as well, they would have gotten very mushy and gooly-eyed. Ugh. The thought of that made me shiver. Another shiver went down my spine, but this time, the thought of the Kanohagakure girls had nothing to do with it. No. This fear was real.  
  
I could still hear Naruto complain about how smelly Akamaru was, but there was something else that lingered in the air. It got louder and louder until the sound was distinct.  
  
"AHAHA! BLOOD! MURDER! AHAHAHA! BLOOD! MURDER!" the sound even silenced naruto.  
  
I immdeiately activated my sharigan as I peeked out of my tent. Neji's tent was right across from him. I saw that he had activated his byukagan and was already scanning the area. He stepped out of the tent. Asumming that he sensed nothing withing fifty meters of the camp, I stepped out too. He looked at me as if to warn me of something, but I ignored it and walked over to him.  
  
"Do you see anything?" I whispered to him. "Any nin's or is it anbu's. Or maybe just a dumb prank?"  
  
He merely shrugged and whispered, "I don't know... I may be able to see out fifty meters, but I can't see past the trees. There are too many trees. Anyone could be hiding behind a larger tree."  
  
"Just keep an eye out."  
  
"Of course."  
  
Right then, naruto peeked his head out with Akamaru on his head sniffing the air. Akamaru whimpered and jumped back into the tent.  
  
Neji flinched as the maniacal laughter started again, but this time, it was louder.  
  
"AHAHAHAHA MURDERERS! AHAHAHAH! BLOOOOD!"  
  
Everyone was out of the tent by now in his or her defense position.  
  
"There's movement," Neji whispered. "About twenty meters three o' clock."  
  
Three o' clock... that's wehre I was facing. I took out two kunai's one in each hand.  
  
The laughter got louder. Neji turned to look in the same direction as me. He stood in a nervous stance.  
  
"Fifteen meters," he whispered to me. "He's getting closer."  
  
I continued to hold my stance while listening to the numbers Neji was telling me. The smaller the number got, the louder the laughter; the closer he got. The laughing got so incredibly loud that I could no longer tell where the sound was coming from.  
  
"Five," he not whispering to me anymore.  
  
The bushes jumped.  
  
Neji performed a series of seals as I did the same.  
  
"ONE!" 


	8. Youkai

bChapter 8/b It stung. A figure flew past me. Drip, drip, drip. The blood hit the ground. His speed was incredibly fast. By the time my arm started to bleed, he had already zoomed past everyone. More blood. I could see him, but I couldn't do anything about it.  
  
His figure was extremely disfigured. He had no headband. His clothing was badly torn, but he was covered. He had little hair and little teeth; his eyes wide like crazy.  
  
His motions slowed down when he zoomed past Kina and Tyde. He wasn't using his hand at all. He held a double sided kunai in his mouth. He stopped. Standing in front of us, arms hanging at his side, he glared at us. There was no white in his eyes; all red. Blood red.  
  
With a jolt of his arm, he quickly took a fresh, new kunai out of his pouch and swung it at Kina. Caught off guard, she lost her balance and fell over. The maniac smirked and almost in an instant, he was on top of Kina. He dragged his tongue up her heck. She was helpless in her position, but luckily Tyde acted quickly and gave the maniac a swift kick in the side, but Tyde wasn't fast enough. The maniac returned to his position in front of me, snickering. Tyde helped Kina up as she started to cry.  
  
Face off.  
  
He served left, I went right. His shoulders vibrated as if he were chuckling with his demonic grin. What the hell is he up to and what does he want with us? I watched as he performed a series of seals, but I kept my eyes on his seals. Monkey... Dragon... Horse... Pig... Tiger...? What kind of ninja is he?  
  
"Sasuke! Watch out!" Tyde's voice called out as a stream of fire shot at me. "You can't fight him like this!" The fired continued to destroy everything it touched as I kept on dodging. The fire shot out from his finger tips, not like the grand fireball technique where you puff out the fire.  
  
"Listen to Tyde!" Kina screamed. In her hands, lay a headband of the mist country. It was brutally scratched and marked. "He's the missing nin that's been hunted for 5 years. His nickname is Youkai. You're no match for him! Let me fight!" She started performing a series of seals as I finished mine.  
  
"Firetype: Grand Fireball!" My fingers pointed like a gun, I brought them up to my lips. I huffed over them creating a large burst of fire right at Youkai.  
  
"BOO! AHAHAHA!" His face appeared through the fire. I fell back landing hard on the ground. Just then, a water ball flew directly into Youkai's side. No longer laughing, his screams echoed throughout the whole forest. He pulled at what was left of his hair.  
  
Kina walked up to him and started rubbing his back to ease his struggle. "Youkai wasn't a missing nin bye will, but he still can't go back. When he goes crazy, you have to hit him with water, not fire. Then he'll become sane again. I've meet him a couple times on my walks outside the village. He told me everything. He started to go made when his wife and children were killed seven years ago. He went insane one day and was determined to get revenge on whoever killed his family. He scratched his hitai up and ran out to find that the ninja was already killed."  
  
Youkai coughed up blood then started to whimper. His face no loner had a crazy grin, but rather an apologetic face with tears.  
  
"Kina, he coughed out. "Help me..."  
  
Then he fell over and passed out. 


	9. The Mouth That Wouldn't Shut

Chapter 9  
  
No one slept at all for the rest of the night. It was quiet, but the silence was piercingly loud. Kina was most troubled that night. She sat by Youkai tending him. He had a high fever. He twitched in his sleep and every time he twitched, Kina jumped back. I continued to watch this scene and I started to feel sorry for her. When she stopped panicking, I sat down next to her, being careful not to scare her more than she already is. She simply turned her head and smiled at me as I took my seat, then kept her eyes on Youkai again.  
  
"So, how is he?" I whispered to her.  
  
"He's.... not doing well," her eyes still fixed on Youkai.  
  
"What's wrong?"  
  
"His fever is very high," she wrung the water out of a towel and placed it on Youkai's forehead. He was shivering violently. "It's never been this bad before... and this is the first time he's directly attacked anyone."  
  
"Oh?" curious, I asked, "What did he used to do when he was... you know, insane?"  
  
"He would just ramble about his life and scratch at himself. He gets like this every time he is reminded too much of his leaving the village."  
  
"What do you think went wrong?"  
  
"Hunters"  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Hunter nins," she replied. "The hunters haunt him everyday. They remind him of his leave and the fact that he is being hunted by the village that he once loved. I've never seen him in such state. I could hardly recognize him..."  
  
She stopped speaking suddenly as Youkai flinched again. I looked over at her again. She seemed scared and nervous. I gently laid my hand on her shoulder. She gasped and jerked her head at me. She calmed down at bit when she realized it was only me. I briefly nodded at her to let her know that I was there.  
  
"Where's Tyde?" I asked.  
  
"I... Don't know," she hesitated to answer. "I haven't seen him since the attack."  
  
"Heh, he must be scared," I said all too quickly.  
  
Kina's eyes narrowed and she shrugged off my hand. "I must tend to Youkai now... You should get some sleep."  
  
"I shrugged her off, not knowing what I did or said to make her upset. I went in my ten and slept for an hour.   
  
By the time I woke up, Tyde was still gone and Youkai had run away. Kina was sitting outside. Her legs folded up to her chest, she stared into the fire. I shook my head and walked around her. I'll never understand the two of them. Kina and Tyde.  
  
"We need to keep moving," said Naruto glaring at me from the corner of his eye. "We'll just let Tyde catch up. I really don get why we had to stay overnight... we could have been there by last night, but SOMEBODY had to take forever running around trees.  
  
That idiot thinks he's better than everyone else. His loud mouth and constant talking was starting to get on my nerves... Just a little... no, A LOT.  
  
"Shut up, it's not like I ran more laps than you..." I simply said. "Besides, you ran the slowest."  
  
"Oh!" cried Naruto. "So you're blaming things on me?!"  
  
"Yes"  
  
"Do you want to fight me?!"  
  
"No, it'll be too easy..."  
  
"For me?!"  
  
"For me."  
  
"Shut up!" yelled Kiba. "We're all as tired as you both are and you two aren't making things any easier."  
  
Neji looked up. "He's right, I think you should both shut your moths for the rest of the mission or you'll both get us killed with your big mouths."  
  
"What about you?!" Naruto was being VERY argumentative today. "You're the one who's always talking... talking and talking about fate!"  
  
"That had done it. Neji activated his byukagan and pointed his fingers. The fingers dove right for Naruto's chakra points, but suddenly, he froze, his fingers still pointed... he froze.  
  
"Stop fighting... All of you!" Shikamaru had taken control of Neji's body with his kagemane no justsu. "Especially you Naruto. You're picking all the fights."  
  
"You! Shikamaru!" Naruto's loud mouth was going to kill him... by me. "You never pick anything. You're the laziest bastard I've ever meet!"  
  
"SHUT UP!" Kina screamed into the fire. She held her head and screamed. "SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!"  
  
Ironically enough, TYde came running back. "What's going on? Where's Kina?"  
  
"You!" Naruto yelled again. "Where were you?! We were about to leave?!"  
  
"Quiet Naruto," Tyde simply said. "I could hear you all the way out there!"  
  
"So how come you came running when you heard Kina and now when you heard me?"  
  
"Do you WANT me to come running for you?" Tyde scoffed. The comment finally silenced Naruto. Finally. He opened his mouth to speak to defend himself, but no workds came out.  
  
"Whatever," Kiba spoke up. "Now that we're all here, let's go. We should get there by early morning... Ikimasho." 


End file.
